More than eight months after federal authorities served warrants at the China Buffet II restaurant in Meridian, three of the business’s operators are accused of employing undocumented immigrants and committing wire fraud.

Cheng Lin, 35; Guo Guang Lin, 60; and Yan Fei Tang, 33, were indicted on charges of harboring and shielding, hiring, and continuing employment of undocumented immigrants, according to U.S. Attorney Mike Hurst of the Southern District of Mississippi.

The federal indictment was ordered unsealed Tuesday and became available to the public Wednesday.

According to the indictment, Lin, Lin and Tang “did unlawfully conceal, harbor and shield from detection such aliens in buildings and other places for the purpose of commerical advantage and private financial gain” beginning in March 2013.

The indictment identified at least eight undocumented workers by initials who had been hired and kept in “company housing” to avoid detection by the government, adding “and others” but not idenfying any by name or initials.

Though the China Buffet II incorporated in July of 2014, the indictment states that, as of September of 2014, the defendants defrauded the Mississippi Department of Employment Security and the United States Department of Labor by concealing their workforce and submitting false UI-2/3 forms, saving the defendants from paying insurance benefits.

Calls to the China Buffet II, located at 2210 North Frontage Road, went unanswered, and a note on the door Wednesday afternoon said the restaurant was closed. Cheng Lin is listed at the Secretary of State’s Office as the director of the restaurant. Emails to the restaurant’s listed addresses have gone unanswered.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s office, the Lins named in the indictment are legal permanent residents, while Tang is an undocumented Chinese immigrant.

Both Lins and two other incorporators, Hui Lin and Bin Qin Lin, have addresses listed in New York City at a non-residential building in the Chinatown area. However, the indictment said that Guo Guang Lin and Cheng Lin, as well as Tang, are of Meridian.

The address, 2 Mott St., Room 505A, in New York belongs to the Poman Ng CPA accounting firm, according to Yelp. The phone number for that address is disconnected.

The indictment said the defendants used an accountant in New York to prepare incomplete forms for the defendants “to conceal the employment of illegal aliens and the failure to pay applicable taxes.”

Forfeitures sought

The indictment alleges the defendants transported workers to and from the restaurant daily, provided housing, deducted rental payments from cash wages and submitted false tax documents, all in an effort to hide the workers from authorities.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office is also seeking the forfeiture of $594,240 in cash, a 2007 Ford E-350 van and a house in Meridian, located at 3808 North Hills St. According to court papers, the cash was seized at three locations: $68,124 from the restaurant, $437,046 from a Citizen’s National Bank safety deposit box and $86,070 from a home at 1108 61st Court.

At the home on North Hills Street, which is owned by the China Buffet of Meridian, a man who answered the door would not comment on the case. At the home on 61st Court, which is owned by a Cheng Lin, Jax Wi, a man who said he was Lin’s uncle, said Lin is being represented by a Jackson attorney in the case, but did not know the attorney’s name.

Indictment follows February raids

On Feb. 22, agents with Immigration and Customs Enforcement served criminal warrants at eight restaurants in Meridian and the Jackson area, detaining 55 people.

In Meridian, ICE agents served warrants at China Buffet II and Sake Sushi, located in the Meridian Crossroads shopping center. At Sake Sushi, which reopened a few days later, there were no arrests or charges filed against the restaurant, according to the business’s attorney. The China Buffet II reopened on March 20.

Thomas Byrd, the public affairs officer for ICE, has repeatedly refused to release any information about who was detained in Meridian, including their names, residency, employment, country of origin, charges filed or where they were held.

A Freedom of Information Act request filed by The Meridian Star on July 13 was answered on Oct. 18, the same day Hurst requested the Lin case to be sealed. In its response to the request, ICE refused to release any information about the case because the investigation is ongoing.

According to its website, ICE should respond to the request – either by supplying the requested materials or denying the request – within 20 business days unless it asks for a 10-day extension. Oct. 18 marks 97 days since The Star filed the request.

A trial has been scheduled for the Lins and Tang on Jan. 8, 2018. If convicted, the Lins and Tang face up to 80 years in prison and fines in excess of $500,000.

Homeland Security Investigations, the Department of Labor and the Office of Inspector General investigated the case, which will be prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Glenda Haynes and Dave Fulcher.